Posts Made By: Rod Mollise

The worm gear is adjustable; you just have to be careful not to get is so tight that there's binding on one part of the revolution.

Generally speaking, a little slop won't hurt.

If you feel the need to make adjustments, you might want to check into the Yahoogroups LXD75 group.

Otherwise, the astronomyboy.com instructions for improving a CG5 mount provide a good general guide to the mostly similar LXD75.

Unk Rod

Hi:

They are two completely different things. Uranometrial is a large set of detailed star charts, maps, that is. ;-)

Unk Rod

Me?

I'm excited about it.

I'll admit that I've wistfully longed for a SkyScout to use with my undergraduate astronomy students and for my public outreach programs. I mean, for one thing, how many times have I lost my bearings when trying to locate something in a light-polluted campus sky? For another, sometimes putting something like this in the hands of kids can really strike some sparks.

HOWSOMEEVER...given its limited functionality, the SkyScout seemed slightly...well "extravagant."

The MySky--assuming it will work as advertised--would add some real functionality to my ETX. I'm not enamored of squinting at a PDA and don't often want to drag out a laptop for use with the 125. ;-)

Unk Rod

Well, you know, Jon...I did the same thing...that is, coverted my 12.5 Starfinder to a truss tube about 10 years ago. And I wondered what to do with the remains, plastic focuser and all. I offered 'em to local aspiring amateurs but had no takers. So that big ol' white tube sat in the garage for about 8 years. Finally, during the last rennovation of good, old Chaos Manor South, off to the dump it went. Sigh.

;-)

Hi:

Check out the Yahoo EQ6 and EQMOD groups. I'm not sure if it will, but if EQMOD will work with the HEQ5, that will provide pulseguiding for sure.

Unk Rod

Hi:

A Peltier is a thermoelectric cooler. This is an idea...but maybe not a very practical one. First and foremost, unless the chip/peltier are in a sealed chamber, you're going to get lots of condensation/frosting. Secondly, current DSLRs are noise-free enough that this probably isn't needed.

Unk Rod

Hi:

I've tested both side by side. Which is better? Depends on what you want. The strengths of the StarBlast are its portability and its decent aperture. What I do with the StarBlast is leave it assembled on the little stand I built for it (see my Astromart review of the SB) so that I can tote it into Chaos Manor South's backyard at a moment's notice. Thank's to the little guy, I've seen some comets and other things that I probably wouldn't have looked for in our muggy, heavily light-polluted skies if I'd had to setup a big gun.

How about a refractor? An APO? I'll tell you right now that you'll probably like the images in a--for example--WO 90 or 80 or even 66 APO better than you will the images in the StarBlast. The SB, an f/4 paraboloid, demands expensive eyepieces or even a coma corrector if the condition of the field periphery is important to you.

As for a downcheck for the refractors? The WO APOs, like most similar scopes in this class, are very well built. They DEMAND a heavy duty photo-video tripod at the least (even the 66, though I can live with it on my Manfrotto medium weight rig), and are actually better on an astronomy-intended alt-az or equatorial mount. That makes 'em not quite as convenient as the SB.

In summation...if you want grab n' go with a considerable amount of aperture, and don't care overmuch about the field being "perfect," get the StarBlast. If you want a scope that's more-better-gooder image-wise _and_ can perform other jobs (guidescope, imaging) easily, look at an APO.

Unk Rod

Bang is in the eye of the beholder. What do _I_ like? Sky Commander and Argo Navis.

Unk Rod

As you've been told, practice helps. Other things?

Make sure you're in focus on both eyepieces--that is, adjust the diopter on whichever eyepiece has that adustment until its focus is the same as the other eyepiece. If your binoviewer does not have a diopter adjustment, just pull an eyepiece in or out until its focus is idential to its opposite number and clamp it down.

If your binoviwer does not have self-centering eyepiece holders, you'll need to play around with the setscrews on one of them until the eyepieces are similarly aligned in their holders. Tightening down setscrews may tilt one eyepiece differently from the other eyepiece and cause merging problems.

Play around with the interocular distance setting. Too far apart, especially will make it hard to merge images.

Merging images is easier at lower powers.

Finally, keep after it and you'll be successful (assuming there's not an alignment problem with your binoviewer).

Unk Rod

I love the Orange Tube, but my experience is that a Starbright coated modern scope will beat one every time. By "modern," I mean a C8 NOT made from 1985 - 1990. ;-)

Unk Rod